Yuri Manga: WORKS in the Bookstore

November 20th, 2006

Sometimes, you get that one small victory that makes it all worthwhile.

This weekend, the wife and I went to a Borders bookstore to look for some books (well duh.) The manga section was labeled “Manga” and was reasonably extensive. A far cry from just two years ago when Manga, when you could find it at all, were lumped in with “Graphic Novels” and buried under an avalanche of DC and Marvel derivatives.

This particular bookstore happened to not have any of the four titles I was looking to get, but that was besides the point. Nor were there any 100% Yuri Manga titles from ALC. I looked at the shelves and thought, “You know what I’d like to see, just once? I’d like to come into a Borders and see WORKS right there on the shelf.”

The wife realized that she had picked up a book she already had, so the very next day we were back at the bookstore – our local Borders, this time.

I walked over to the Manga section. Still no Torikoro 2, or Ichigo Mashimaro 1 or Read or Dream 1, but there was Ninin ga Shinobuden Volume 1, so I picked that up – review to come. Then I did my walk around the whole section, just to see what they had.

I saw it from about 10 feet away, because of the color. I took a crappy picture with my phone, because…well, because. And I walked over to the wife with a strange look, because yeah, I was getting all choked up.

I *almost* bought the book, just to ensure it got sold. Instead I put it, as you see above, hoping that someone would be intrigued and buy it.

I imagine that I’m preaching to the choir here when I tell you this, but – if you don’t see 100% Yuri from ALC on *your* bookstore shelves, tell them to order some! It’s not like every bookstore in America automatically orders 10 of every title. And especially in the case of something like Yuri – there needs to be a demand before there will be a supply.

Yuri Monogatari 4 will be out in the bookstores in the spring. If you prefer to buy in person, not online, ask your local comic book, G/L/B/T or chain bookstore to order some. Or *they won’t know anyone wants them*.

In any case, I wanted to share my little victory with you, because considering what we’ve gone through to get Yuri recognized as a legitimate genre, it’s not a small victory at all. ^_^

8 Responses

  1. Zyl says:

    I’ve received my pre-order for Yuri Monogatari Vol.4 and have written a quick review of it. Cheers!

  2. Casey says:

    Was that the Bridgewater Borders? Works has been on the shelves there for quite a long time.

  3. Thanks Zyl – I noticed, and appreciate it!

    Casey – No, I almost never go to the Bridgewater store. This was the one in Livingston. I don’t know why, but it always seems better than the others. :-)

  4. Lee Kottner says:

    Erica, that’s so rockin’! It’s great to see your stuff on a shelf in a real bookstore, isn’t it? Congrats!

  5. Anonymous says:

    If you think that’s good, I found a copy of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? in Leeds in England when I was visiting there over summer. I was so surprised I had to buy it straight away. X3

  6. That’s the spirit! Now get all your friends to buy some too, and maybe some of your acquaintances – and a few relatives. ;-)

  7. Anonymous says:

    Hey, unrelated, but I thought you’d want to know: LOVE MY LIFE by Yamaji Ebine has been made into a live-action film that, from the trailers, actually looks quite good. (Eri’s actress? The bomb.)

  8. Anonymous says:

    I’m waiting for the day when I will be unpacking the Waldenbooks shipment (as I do every Friday) and will suddenly have YM4 or WORKS or somesuch emerge from one of the boxes. It will be a huge thrill. :) And of course will be promptly displayed, since I take care of that section. —Lianne.

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